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Monday, May 16, 2016

IT'S ABOUT TIME

There are many different factors that are used in weighing Value or Worth. Some of these factors are the cost, personal preference and time. How much something costs us places value or worth on that object - the higher the cost, the higher the value/worth. Of course what we all see as being valuable is not All the same, we do have our own preferences as to what is valuable. I recognize there is some overlap of preferences (i.e. family, food, fun, fellowship). I don't know anybody who would say those are not worth having much of in our lives, but even these can be graded also.

Concerning Time, let us define it first. Time - the passing of life/moments which has been divided up into centuries, decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. You allow something or someone the right amount of time and value can be applied to it or them. Because every second that passes is one that is gone forever - time is already extremely valuable. However, you add to time other preferences of yours that you deem valuable, perhaps a relationship or two, plus a cost like a meal and suddenly time is Precious, Cherished, and Treasured.

Now, when God is involved in the determination of value, the Scales are set for Eternal worth. God chose this Value System, this Love Plan through His Word before creation. There would be nothing that we could do to merit His worth, value, love, grace, redemption or mercy. Everything had to be found and accepted through Christ.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. - Ephesians 1:4

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. - 1 Peter 1:20

Like a builder who considers the cost before starting his project, so did God before Creation and encouraged us through Christ to do likewise.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ - Luke 14:28-30

This is another huge reason why Christ's words on The Cross resound so loud and strong then, today and forever - "It is Finished."(John 19:30) His Work for us was complete at these words and the sealing/justification of the work would be His Resurrection.

God's personal preference was to make us in His image and when we corrupted His image by disobeying Him, His personal preference was to guard the way to The Tree of Life, so that our condition may not become permanent. For if humanity somehow ate of The Tree of Life after The Fall, I believe that act would have sealed our damned fate (hince the Cherubim guarding the way back to it with a flaming sword - Genesis 3:24). God's preference still was to grant humanity, a chosen people in particular, Rules and Regulations to live by (The Law). When nobody could keep The Law, God's preference was to send someone who could and be the sacrifice for all (knowing all could not keep The Law) - Christ Jesus.

It is my belief that when God created beings that had His Breath of Life in them - Angels, Humans, and Animals - they would live forever. Objects that have no relationship to Him - Sun, Moon, Stars and Planets - will someday pass away. God is. He is called I AM for a reason. He has always been, always is, always will be. We place a label on this type of existence and call it Eternity - Past, Present and Future.

The point in Eternity that we call The Big Bang (Creation - Genesis 1:1) to the point where some say the universe comes back on itself (The Great White Throne Judgement - Rev. 20:11), I picture God as viewing as a Ruler. He holds (sustains) the Ruler in His hand. He can view all the marks of time, history or the ages on the Ruler at a glance. With God already being in the Eternal State, He created what we deem as time.

I believe the second a human is conceived in the womb, he/she is an eternal being. This man or woman has a destiny found in either one of two places - the solitary confinement, yet populated place of the damned called The Lake of Fire for those who reject Jesus Christ as The Answer. Or Paradise, Eden, Heaven, New Jerusalem, the New Earth and Eternity with Christ for the beloved who call Christ their Lord, Savior and King.

It is with this in mind that I implore everyone to make the most of your time while you still draw breath. Yeah, "The sun will come up tomorrow...", but there is no promise that says you will be here to see it. Hebrews 9:27 says, "people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment". Every second is a breath granted by God. His air fills my lungs. Our time here should be valued more and more each passing moment of every fleeting day.

I heard an analogy once concerning the value on time. If you were given $86, 400 a day (equal to the seconds in a day) and could not carry over any unspent money - how would you spend that money? The cost of something is very important in value. Jesus thought you and me worth the cost of torture and death - even death upon a Cross. Personal preference is a big factor in value. It was God's personal preference before, during and after His Son's first visit that Proved my worth/value. He came after humanity with arms open wide. Why did He deem us of such a cost and such a personal preference? Because of the amount of time He wanted to spend with us - eternity - It's About Time.